C A L A M Y 



: He made himself well acquainted with eccle- 



siaoti ;, ; ;i:.d :!i,-i), ,; con- 



troveisie.--, toi.MckTtd with particular carr and 

 rest tl. -..I- which iKil>:,i;,i. d l.rtwcin the Church of 

 land and tin- nonconformists. His examination 

 of us merits was long, minute, and temperate ; and 

 it terminated in a decided attachment to that party, 

 which, the claims of both being supposed equal, a 



:dly mind would certainly not have prt-f 

 United with the dissenters from convictions of right 

 and duty, employed his talents as a preacher 



of the gospel in that communion ; and, after labour* 

 ing for some years in this subordinate character, he 



ivul Presbyterian ordination in 161)1-. This or- 

 dination was the first public transaction of that na- 

 ture which had taken place since the passing of the 

 act of uniformity. It was usual, on former occa- 

 sions, to have no person present except the ordainer 

 and the ordained ; but Mr Calamy was resolved to 

 have as great a degree of publicity as possible con- 

 nected with his admission into the Christian ministry. 

 And, after encountering some difficulties from the ti- 

 midity of his brethren, he succeeded in procuring the 

 ordination of other six at the same time. The whole 

 service, which was conducted with requisite solem- 

 nity, as well as unprecedented openness, lasted from 

 ten in the morning till past six in the evening. Mr 

 Calamy, after holding some inferior situations, was i'i 

 1703, chosen pastor of a large congregation in West- 

 minster, London. Previous to this appointment, he- 

 had made, himself useful to the dissenting cause, and 

 acceptable to all its supporters, by publishing an 

 Abridgment of Mr Baxter's History of his Life and 

 Times ; lo which he added, an account of other eject- 

 ed ministers, an apology for themselves and their 

 adh.-rents, and a continuation of their history to 

 the year 1691. Of this work he published, in IH'3, 

 a second edition, with considerable improvements, in 

 2 vols. 8vo. and dedicated it to the Duke of Devon- 

 shire. It, of course, gave great offence to church- 

 men, and high satisfaction to dissenters, when it iin>t 

 appeared ; and to this day is regarded with similar 

 emotions by their respective descendants. Bishop 

 Burnet thanked him for it, declaring, that he had 

 read it with much pleasure. Some attacks were 

 made upon it ; in repelling which, Mr Calamy evin- 

 ced both strength of argument and moderation of 

 temper. His conduct to Mr Hoadley, the celebra- 

 ted bishop of Bangor, was particularly candid and 

 enlightened, and deserves to be recorded as a singu- 

 lar fact in the history of religious controversy. Mr 

 Hoadley had written an answer to the tenth chapter 

 of Mr Calamy's Abridgment, respecting the reason- 

 ableness of conformity to the church of England. 

 This gave rise to various pamphlets, in which these 

 champions contended against each other with great 

 talent and great perseverance. At length Mr Hoad- 

 ley published a defence of Episcopal ordination. 

 To this Mr Calamy composed an argumentative and 

 historical reply ; but, with a forbearance and a gene- 

 rosity which do his memory the highest honour, he 

 did not print it, because it would have diverted his 

 antagonist from that struggle in behalf of political 

 and religious freedom, which he so ably maintained 

 agabst the abettors of the corporation aud test acts. 



Such an exhibition f hi. ra! principle, it of itself 



ufli ' alamy dear to every 



<1 of liberty, and every admirer of moral great* 



One of the pamphlet, which he produced in the 

 course of this dispute i worthy of being particular* 

 ly noticed, on account of the unqualified praise be* 



iiowrd upon it by Mr Locke. It IS his Drfe/iCt of 

 Muilnatt Nonconformity, the introduction to which 

 that t mint. tit philosopher affirmed, in a message to 

 the author, to be invulnerable both in its principles and 

 its reasoning*. In 1709, Mr Calamy went into Scot- 

 land. He there met with thr kii.dett reception, and 

 most respectful tieatmmt. The univeriitie* of Edin- 

 burgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, conferred on him the, 

 degree of doctor in divinity. Every attention was 

 paid to him by the professor, and literati of the places 

 which he visited ; and his impressions of the Scotch 

 nation were, upon the whole, highly favourable and 

 pleasing. It w as about this time that the French 

 prophets made so much noise in England, 

 principles and conduct of these suspicious enthusiast 

 were thought deserving of the interference of govern- 

 ment, and the attorney general was ordered to prose* 

 cute their ring-leaders. Before, however, any dec- 

 measures were adopted, Lord Godolphin and Mr 

 Hailey consulted Dr Calamy, who, from his know- 

 ledge of their pretensions and character, and his ge- 

 neral sagacity in such matters, was well qualified to 

 give a sound advice. He advised government to 

 stain from giving any disturbance to the self created 

 prophets. His counsel was prudently adopted ; ant! 

 the consequence was, that the fanatics, who had ex- 

 cited so much unnecessary alarm, soon dwindled 

 away into insignificance and contempt. Dr Ca! 

 assisted in the extinction of this miserable sect also, 

 by writing a Caveat aguinst the AVtc Proj)htl* t f -r 

 which he received the thanks of Queen Anne, who 

 considered it as a public service. 



In the years 171S &c. there were keen dispute* 

 among the dissenters respecting subscription to the 

 first article of the church of England, which relate* 

 to the doctrine of the Trinity. He attended one -of 

 their private meetings ; but distinctly foreseeing the 

 quarrel which ensued, and afraid of the evil conse- 

 quences to which it might lead, he attended no more ; 

 and neither openly joined with the one party nor 

 with the other, when they even came to a division on 

 the subject of discussion. He was not indifferent, 

 however, to the doctrine of the Trinity, which he de- 

 feuded in thirteen sermons preached at the Mer- 

 chants Lecture in Salter's Hall. These sermons he 

 published in 1722 ; and for this volume, the author 

 not only received the thanks of several dignitaries of 

 the established church, but was also honour*. d u 

 gracious acknowledgments, and a gratuity of fifty 

 pounds, from the king himself. In 17'_'7, he finish- 

 ed his great work, entitled, A Continuation of the Ac- 

 count of the Ministers, $'' fjcctcd after the Restora- 

 tion. This book is well known to those who art 

 conversant in the history of that period. It reflects 

 the highest credit on the industry and impartiality of 

 the author, though it IKI> not been so fortunate as to 

 escape the censures of high-church and 



is most deservedly popular, both as a collection f 



